US History to 1877Matthew Campbell, Shaneena Wapinsky-Smith, Jonathan MacNally

Professor Jared HaasWentworth Institute of Technology, Spring 2015

Upper Class White Women

How they contributed to:•The economy •Politics •American Identity

Goals

To understand the influence 18th and 19th century white upper class American women had on:•the economy.•politics.•the American identity.

Objectives

After observing this presentation, viewers will be able to:•describe upper white class American women.•identify their major contributions to the development of the United States.•And have a better understanding of the long lasting impacts on American economy, politics, and the American identity.

Upper Class White Women

The Influences that Upper Class White Women had on the Economy in the 18th and 19th Century

Who really are the Upper Class White Women of the 18th century

• Even in the Upper class the head male patriarch ruled. He would be dictator-like over his wife and children, a dominating father-centered standard (ushistory.org).

• Women had to choose between submission to God or the head of the household.

• Upper class white women had no control over their own wealth or property passed down from their fathers (Boundless 5).

• Women had strict roles as mother and housekeeper.

• “The work patterns of elite white women changed radically after the Civil War, depending on their stage in the life cycle. Women over age 50 changed least, insisting that they needed servants and continuing their traditional managerial roles. The next generation, comprising the young wives and mothers during the Civil War, depended much less on black servants, and displayed greater flexibility toward household work. The youngest generation, which matured during the war and Reconstruction, did many of their own domestic chores. Some sought paid jobs outside the household, especially in teaching, which allowed an escape from domestic chores and obligatory marriage” (worldheritage.org).

The Married Women's Property Act

•The Married Women's Property Act allowed women to finally be able to obtain their own wealth.• Catalyst for women’s emergence into American economy (Boundless 5:1)

•Young women were becoming more educated (history.org)• Were now being allowed to attend colleges. • Around 1820-1830 women began to displace men as schoolteachers

•Catherine Brewer was the first American woman to achieve a Bachelors • Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. on July 16, 1840

•Helen Magill earned the first Ph.D. granted to an American woman• Boston University in 1877

Upper Class White Women’s Influence on the Economy

Women brought Humanity and Equality to the work force (Boundless 5)

by:-developing Labor laws.-developing skilled work force.-establishing social welfare groups.

Labor laws helped protect women from economic strong holds.

Safer working conditions improved the health and mind state of workers as a result of improved conditions.•Large-scale mills that emerged in the early 1800s required laborers to work long hours in difficult conditions. Most workers in the booming industries were women, though textile manufacturers frequently employed children as well (Boundless 4:12).•Safe working conditions

• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of 146 workers, most all of whom were women and children (history.com).

Upper class white women were also influential in:•Child welfare laws

• “Catharine Beecher strongly supported allowing children to simply be children and not prematurely forcing adulthood onto them. She believed that children lacked the experience needed to make important life decisions and that in order for them to become healthy self-sufficient adults, they needed to be allowed to express themselves freely in an environment suited to children. It was these beliefs that led to her support of the system of kindergartens” (worldheritage.org).

Equalizing the playing field…

Industrialization created more job opportunities, and the women in the work force grew (Boundless5)•Women’s unions

• “In 1868 Susan B. Anthony encouraged working women from the printing and sewing trades in New York, who were excluded from men's trade unions, to form Workingwomen's Associations” (worldheritage.org).

• Fair pay for fair work• “As a delegate to the National Labor Congress in 1868 Anthony persuaded

the committee on female labor to call for votes for women and equal pay for equal work, although the men at the conference deleted the reference to the vote” (worldheritage.org).

Impact On the Development of the American Workforce

EDUCATION is key because knowledge is power!•The first co-ed university in the United States was Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio (1833) (Boundless 5:1)

-This opened the doors for Upper Class women to obtain the knowledge needed to go with their wealth.

•Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to earn a medical degree; her sister Emily received the third medical degree (worldheritage.org).

•They later established the Women's Medical College, training many more female doctors

Development of Social Welfare Groups

• Dorothea Dix, a social justice reformer. From 1840-41, she conducted a statewide investigation of how her home state of Massachusetts cared for the poor and mentally ill (Boundless5:3)

• “With Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, they established the New York infirmary, which she superintended two years, as resident physician and manager. In 1862, Marie Zakrzewska founded the New England Hospital for Women and Children, the first hospital in Boston, the first with a school for nurses and the second hospital in America to be run by women physicians and surgeons” (worldheritage.org).

The American Identity

Characteristics of Upper Class Women

in the 19th Century

Property Ownership Rights Higher Education Voice for Equality Wealth & Status

ljblog12.blogspot.com

Upper Class Women: Property Ownership Rights

Fact # 1“The Married Women's Property Act of 1839 was an Act of Statute in the state of Mississippi that significantly altered the law regarding property rights granted to married women, allowing them to own and control their own property.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

Fact # 2“The Married Women's Property Act set a precedent for women's property rights that are thought to have affected legislators' decision to maintain gender neutral language in the Homestead Act of 1862, allowing any individual to file an application for a federal land grant.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

Women Acquiring Property Ownership Influenced the American Identity

How?

The pursuit of rights for women to own and control their own property is an ideal that carries over into the American Identity as it relates to the “American Dream”. The “American Dream” is to purchase and own your own home and land. The Upper Class Women were the ones that the best chance to realize this dream after The Married Women's Property Act and the Homestead Act. There’s a sense of pride in land ownership in American culture.

Upper Class Women Received Higher Education

Fact # 1“In the nineteenth century, higher educational opportunities for women became more common, though still limited.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

Fact # 2“Rather than emphasizing ornamental aspects of women's roles, this new model encouraged women to engage in more substantive education, delving into the arts and sciences to further develop their reasoning skills.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

Fact # 3“The education of elite women in Philadelphia after 1740 followed the British model developed by the gentry classes during the early 18th century.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section1)

Higher Educated Women Influenced the American Identity

www.connerprairie.org

Getting an education could only be afforded by the upper class. Once the upper class women were able to attend and earn an education this opened many doors for them to explore and also gain more respect. By involving themselves in education this led to more opportunities to be involved with politics to help lay the ground work towards women's rights. These women also were wives and mothers that were responsible for bring up their children. There educations helped inspire their children's education which helped build a greater educated population.

Upper Class Women Exercised their Voice for Equality

Fact # 1“Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies. The idea is that women should have equal rights with men.” (https://www.boundless.com, Chpt 5 section 3)

Fact # 2“The Seneca Falls Convention was an early and influential women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York, July 19–20, 1848. After two days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined grievances and set the agenda for the women's rights movement.” ” (https://www.boundless.com Chpt 5 section 3)

Upper Class Women Voicing Their Right to Equality Influenced American Identity

The upper class women are gaining more and more passion to express their voice with in America at this time due to their gain of knowledge through education and willingness to fight for their rights to be viewed as an equal to men. These women's voices were heard in politics and throughout the social environment such as town hall meetings. en.wikipedia.org

Upper Class Women had Wealth and Status

Fact # 1“The upper class consisted of the aristocrats, ruling families, titled people, and religious hierarchs. Those people usually had a fortune to be born with their high status and they didn’t have to make much effort to earn their place in society.” (http://www.glbrain.com)

Fact # 2“The main and crucial difference was their noble family name. It was the most appreciated and valued thing they owned. Their aristocratic names could not lose reputation or be forgotten easily.” (http://www.glbrain.com)

Fact # 3“Characteristic for upper classes is that they rarely ever considered selling enormous amount of land and moving to some more modest places” (http://www.glbrain.com)

Cont’d.

Upper Class Women had Wealth and Status

Fact # 4“Rather than emphasizing ornamental aspects of women's roles, this new model encouraged women to engage in more substantive education, delving into the arts and sciences to further develop their reasoning skills.” (https://www.boundless.com)

Fact # 5“The most prestigious of the classes for British women to fall under was upper-working class. These women were immediately distinguished by their strict clothes that consisted of “laces, corsets, veils, and gloves so that their bodies were properly covered.” (Huysman, online)

Fact # 6“These women often had some sort of inheritance passed down to them from their fathers, so they were often courted by men of high standing who wished to increase their own wealth.” (http://staff.washington.edu)

Wealth & Status Affect on American Identity

www.studyblue.com

The American ideal is to gain power and status which typically is measured by wealth and image and translates into the American Identity to aspire to. “Women of the upper and middle classes were especially preoccupied with the variety and complexity of dress, which showed their status and position. This has always been true regardless of the historical era, though. Particularly geared to the fashions for most of the nineteenth century were long skirts and blouses that emphasized a small waist, ample bosom, and inaccessibility.” (http://web.clark.edu)

Upper Class White Women in Politics

Women’s Rights•“Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women

and girls of all ages in many societies. The idea is that women should have equal rights with men.” (Boundless, Ch.5)

•Women fought for equal rights in many ways including:

– political demonstration– Lobbying– Raising public awareness

Upper Class white women had the political connections, power and money to help make a difference in the movement,

Women’s Rights Movement

Prior to much of the 18th and 19th century, women had no rights to speak of. They could not vote, own land, gain higher education, etc. The 19th Century was a huge turning point for women’s rights. They finally gained the rights to:

– Property Ownership – Higher Education

– Wealth and Status

– Had the Power to Fight for Equality

First Wave Feminism

• First-wave feminism is the feminist movement which occurred during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

• Focused on:– Women’s suffrage

– Women’s right to vote

• During the early 19th Century– A limited number of women fought for equality– The feminist movement opened other women’s eyes to the fact if

they speak up, they too can make a change. (Boundless, Chapter 5)

1st Women’s Rights Convention

• July 1848• Seneca Falls NY• 300 People Attended• 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of

Sentiments, which outlined grievances and set the agenda for the women's rights movement. (Boundless, Ch.5)

• 12 resolutions were adopted, calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women. (Boundless, Ch.5)

• The fact that all of these women gathered together for the same cause helped them to gain power and momentum in their fight towards injustice.

National Women’s Rights Convention of 1850

• A second large political convention

That helped strengthen the fight• Brought together individuals

who had been working for women’s

Rights into one place

• Women worked together to

Plan out the goals of the Women’s

Rights Movement• The main goal was that “attendees

resolved to secure legal and social

equality for women on par with men. Lucy Stone(Boundless, Chapter 5)

Men Joined the Fight

• Women were able to gain support of men in politics to help in the fight to achieve equal rights

• This opened up the eyes of other men and helped them to understand it from a man’s point of view.

• Gaining the support of men in politics helped strengthen their campaign.

• Gerrit Smith – Liberty Party Candidate for President in 1848• William Lloyd Garrison – Abolishonist• Wendell Phillips – Politician

( Boundless, Chapter 5)

Divorce in 1860

• Women lobbied for divorce rights in 1860 and won the right to divorce for the reasons of:

• Adultery

• Desertion• Drunkenness• Cruelty

The political impact was that women could divorce a man and become her own successful independent woman based on the new laws. Upper Class White Women could also keep money from the husband and remain in the upper class.

Women’s Rights

Women lobbied and were granted rights:

•Property rights

•Keep their own wages

•Shared ownership of children

•Their children’s wills, wages, property

The continued support and fight for women’s rights opened up new doors and avenues for advancement of their cause. (Boundless, Ch5)

Women in Politics

• “Further advances and setbacks were experienced in New York and other states, but with each new win the feminists were able to use it as an example to apply more leverage on unyielding legislative bodies.”(Boundless, Chapter 5)– Women continued the fight even though it was a

constant struggle.

• All of the early efforts set the groundwork for women’s rights today.

Women in Politics

• Women’s rights activists started gaining ground in the 1800-1900’s

• The political events set the ground work for future feminist movements against:

• Social inequalities• Cultural inequalities• Political inequalities

(Boundless, Chapter 5)

Work Cited

• Boundless. (n.d.) US to 1877. Retrieved from http://www.boundless.com

• Clark. (n.d). Retrieved from http://web.clark.edu• Glbrain. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.glbrain.com• Washington. (n.d). Retrieved from http://staff.washington.edu • Worldheritage. (n.d). Retrieved from http://worldheritage.org• History. (n.d). Retrieved from http://history.com